Going MIA
by stargazercmc
Summary: Five things Jack O'Neill did during the time loop in Window Of Opportunity that weren't shown on TV.
1. Take Your Pictures Down and Shake It Out

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Stargate SG-1, I'd have my own line of Asgard-created Jack and Daniel clones.  
**Notes:** This was written for surreallis who requested "Five things Jack O'Neill did during the time loop in Window Of Opportunity that weren't shown on TV."

* * *

As he knocked on the heavy, oak door, Jack wondered how he had made it to Sarah's house without thinking better of it.

He hadn't intended to come here. After leaving Daniel's office, Jack went back to his own and began to look through boxes he had brought up to the SGC some four years ago. Jack couldn't remember what was in them; he wanted to see if they were worth keeping.

An hour and two boxes later, he grabbed his keys and headed for the surface.

Sarah opened the door. "Jack?" she said. "Why didn't you call? Is everything okay?" He felt the painful tug of seeing her.

"I... I just..." He choked on a million thoughts he'd never let himself voice.

_We were good, once. I loved you. Was Charlie the best there was of me? I may be falling in love again. I've traveled the stars. I'm sorry I made you grieve alone. It should have been me._

_I'm scared I'll forget his laugh._

Sarah's tone was more gentle this time. "Jack?"

"I found this picture. I thought you should have it." He dusted the print on the side of his pants leg before passing it over. She smiled before taking it from him.

"I didn't think there were any of these left," she said. "I did my best to get rid of the ones that showed how much weight I gained."

"You were beautiful," Jack said. "He made you beautiful."

She looked at him wistfully. "He made us both beautiful, Jack."


	2. Out of the Red

Samantha Carter blinked as the breeze picked up and blew into her eyes. "Colonel?" The wind, rustling through the trees, swirled a few leaves into the air.

"Over here, Carter." Turning towards her CO's voice, she saw Jack sitting on a slanted boulder just inside the tree line.

"Sir, Daniel is looking for you." She walked towards him. Instead of getting up, he slid over and motioned for her to sit down. "He said something about finding pictures with alien text."

"Ah. Been there, done that." He patted the rock. "Not in a hurry to go there again right now. Today, I'm going to enjoy the fall... ah, summer... color change." She smiled at that. Colorado was beautiful in August.

As the wind kicked up again, Sam sat down and raked her hair out of her eyes. "Sir, when you loop, how much free will comes into play? I mean, do you pretty much do the same thing each time?"

Jack picked up a red leaf and began peeling off strips. "Let's just say that I'll be avoiding Doc Frasier for quite a while." He reached down and snagged another stray leaf. For a few minutes, the only sound was air moving through branches. When Jack finished his fourth red leaf, Sam looked his way and broke the silence.

"Funny," she said.

Jack glanced up, his eyes sparkling. "That I'll be avoiding the doc?"

"No, sir." She pointed down at the shredded leaf remnants. "I think it's funny that in escaping one type of repetition that your subconscious found another." She reached down, picked up a couple of the shreds between her fingers. "Do you think it's embedded in human nature to be scared to try new things?"

When she looked up again, she saw his brown eyes locked on her. Freezing in place under his stare, she felt something warm spread upwards from her stomach. His hand lifted slowly, nearing her face.

"Consistency." His voice was rough and low. "I like to think of it as consistency," he said. Afraid to move, Sam held her breath as his hand finally reached its target. A flash of red caressed her cheek as he slowly pulled the leaf from her hair.

When he closed her hand around the leaf, she remembered to breathe.


	3. All the Deepest Blues Are Black

Colonel Jack O'Neill's realization that he would be kicked out of the United States Air Force and thrown into jail occurred at approximately 1453 MST. This was, not coincidentally, the same time he noticed the squadron of fighters trailing his six.

Taking the F-16 had been easy, especially since he didn't ask permission. In his original plan, the only person who would ever know was Teal'c, and hell, he had practically dared Jack to do it.

OK, so maybe he just raised his eyebrow when Jack invited him along.

At any rate, Jack now realized he must not be as stealthy as he imagined.

Even while dodging some of the best trained pilots in the world, he didn't regret his impulse. The open sky, a startling blue over the red clay desert below, rushed Jack's senses like nothing in Daniel's dingy office could. He could almost taste the tang of a brush fire on the sands below. And though he knew the night sky wouldn't come while he and Teal'c were looping, this cockpit made Jack feel closer to the thousands of stars he had traveled past.

When the radio buzzed about target potential, Jack broke silence and told them he was heading home. Pacified, the squadron let him maneuver to center as they turned back towards base. Jack marveled at how one simple rebellious act could almost bring him awake. He turned to Teal'c, amused with his sudden clarity. The Jaffa nodded at him in understanding and permission.

With that cue, Jack jolted upwards past the squadron and punched through a blanket of clouds on the reach of the atmosphere. And when the edge of the world turned black, he kept going up.


	4. Let's Go Another Round

Daniel tossed Jack the basketball and waited for him to approach. "Jack," he said. "Are you sure that we should be doing this right now?"

Jack moved towards Daniel. With a pivot, he dodged Daniel's feint and skiffed the ball at the basket. Miss. Taking a few more steps forward, he picked up the ball where it threatened to corner itself on the gym wall. "Trust me when I say you're a lot safer in here than you are in the hallway," Jack replied. He tossed the ball back to Daniel, who bounced it once before holding it to his chest. "Anyway, you were gonna tell me about that thing from this morning at breakfast?"

"That's not what I meant," Daniel said. "SG-15 brought back some pictures and I know the key has to..."

"Be in the translations. Right." Jack held up his arms for the ball. Daniel tossed it his direction and frowned. "Danny, haven't you just ever wanted to let the mystery unwind?" Jack said.

Daniel watched Jack dribble towards the basket and take a jump shot. The ball arced before landing neatly in the net. Jack turned to him. "I mean, how many times have our lives depended on having immediate answers?" Jack moved under the basket and retrieved the ball before tossing it back towards Daniel. "Don't you ever just want to see what happens if we let things go? Let the play... play out?"

Daniel tried from the free-throw line. The ball hit the backboard before bouncing in. "Well, sure," said Daniel. "It's like we were talking about this morning with the..."

"O'Neill. General Hammond wishes to speak with you." Teal'c appeared from the entryway of the gym.

"Be there in a minute, T," said Jack. "Daniel, this morning with the...?"

"It's really just a matter of interpretation of the..."

**FLASH**

_Damn._


	5. Done Nursing the Patience

Samantha Carter listened to the string of curses coming from her CO's mouth and winced. When Jack stomped over to the trash can and dumped his entire tray in it, Sam leaned towards Daniel.

"Didn't he just tell us 10 minutes ago how much he loved Froot Loops?" she said.

Daniel nodded. He hoped it wasn't the passion of his argument that had triggered Jack's tantrum. Sam gathered her things and got up. "I guess our briefing is going to start early today," she said. "We should go get Teal'c."

Daniel stood up and prepared his own tray to take to the trash. He looked to the door just in time to see Jack storm out of the mess, pushing through a clump of junior officers as if parting the Red Sea. Sam headed towards the door, stopping to make apologies to the confused group.

"Sam," said Daniel. She looked back at him. "When did Jack learn to curse in Latin?"


End file.
